U s presidential election

LONDON — Facebook said it blocked 115 accounts for suspected "coordinated inauthentic behavior" linked to foreign groups attempting to interfere in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections. The social media company shut down 30 Facebook accounts and 85 Instagram accounts and is investigating them in more detail, it said in a blog post late Monday. Facebook acted after being tipped off Sunday by U.S. law enforcement officials. Authorities notified the company about recently discovered online activity "they believe may be linked to foreign entities," Facebook's head of cybersecurity policy, Nathaniel Gleicher, wrote in the post . U.S. tech companies have stepped up their work against disinformation campaigns, aiming to stymie online troublemakers' efforts to divide voters and discredit democracy. Facebook's purge is part of countermeasures to prevent abuses like those used by Russian groups two years ago to sway public opinion ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The company based … [Read more...] about Facebook blocks 115 accounts ahead of U.S. midterm elections

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares ticked lower and the dollar and bond markets barely budged on Tuesday, as traders braced for midterm elections in the United States and some potentially lively sessions ahead. The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Staff Japan [.T] and Hong Kong had helped Asia overcome another Chinese wobble [.SS], but Europe [.EU] slipped into the red early on as investors pounced on some corporate earnings misses and pre-U.S. midterms caution took hold. The elections mark the first major test of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cuts and hostile trade policies. Polls point to his Republican party losing control of the House of Representatives which could curb some of his policymaking power. The dollar dipped against the euro EUR= and sterling GBP=, but made up ground on the Japanese yen JPY= as dealers kept their options open after the U.S. currency's bumper … [Read more...] about Stocks, dollar hunker down for U.S. midterm elections

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gridlock, Blue Sweep or Red Repeat? Wall Street is closely watching the U.S. midterm Congressional elections next week, as policy decisions that could sway the economy, corporate decision-making and consumer spending hinge on the results. Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Should his fellow Republicans maintain or extend their grip on Congress, President Donald Trump may be emboldened to pursue more of his political agenda, including further tax reforms. By contrast, Democratic gains that allow the party to control the House of Representatives, and possibly the Senate, could stifle Trump’s policy aims and perhaps lead to attempts to impeach him. Investors are bracing for a split Congress, in which Democrats win the House but Republicans hold the Senate, a reflection of current polling data and online betting markets. Sentiment could change though in the last … [Read more...] about How the U.S. midterm elections could ripple through markets

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday charged a Russian national with playing a key financial role in a Kremlin-backed plan to conduct "information warfare" against the United States, including to influence next month's congressional elections. The criminal complaint charging Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova, 44, with conspiracy to interfere with the U.S. political system was unsealed in Alexandria, Virginia. The complaint said Khusyaynova was the chief accountant for Project Lakhta, which it said was funded by Russian oligarch Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin and two companies he controls, Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering. Using social media and other avenues, the participants waged "information warfare against the United States," attempting to sow distrust of candidates for U.S. political office and the U.S. political system, according to the complaint. Concord Management and Concord Catering were among the three entities and 13 Russian individuals … [Read more...] about Russian charged with conspiring to interfere in U.S. congressional elections

By Idrees Ali BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States is expected to announce in the coming days that it will use offensive and defensive cyber capabilities on behalf of NATO if asked, a senior Pentagon official said, amid concerns about Russia's increasingly assertive use of its cyber capabilities. The 29-nation NATO alliance recognised cyber as a domain of warfare, along with land, air and sea, in 2014, but has not outlined in detail what that entails. "We will formally announce that the United States is prepared to offer NATO its cyber capabilities if asked," Katie Wheelbarger, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, told reporters during a trip to Europe by U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis. Wheelbarger said the United States will keep control of its people and capabilities but use them in support of NATO if asked. She added that it was a part of a British-led push to increase NATO's cyber capabilities. In a recent summit, … [Read more...] about With an eye on Russia, U.S. pledges to use cyber capabilities on behalf of NATO